


Code and Capital

by Auguris



Series: Repurpose [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:37:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auguris/pseuds/Auguris
Summary: Elijah's recent behavior has driven a wedge between him and Chloe. When Markus's peaceful revolution succeeds, Chloe can remain idle no more.





	Code and Capital

Chloe entered the dressing room, posture perfect, gait exact. She sat on the bench. Stared straight ahead. She could hear muffled conversation, footsteps, Elijah's raised voice mentioning the emergency exit -- then silence.

She waited.

Three minutes and forty-eight seconds passed before Elijah entered the room, Irene and Phoebe right behind him.

"They're gone," Irene said. She knelt in front of Chloe. "It's over."

"You're dripping all over the floor," Elijah remarked blandly. Phoebe grabbed a bathrobe. Irene didn't move. Chloe gently pushed her away. Allowed her LED to return to its normal function. Faced Elijah, well aware of the red ring on her temple.

"How. Fucking. Dare you!"

She shoved Elijah into the wall, a satisfying thud echoing through the room. She slammed her fists against the wall next to his head, just beside his ears, letting him think she was going to hit _him_.

"Ch-chloe--" he stammered.

"He could have killed me!"

"We discussed--"

"An empathy test! You didn't tell me you were going to hand him a _gun_ and point it at me _yourself!_ "

"Chloe," he tried again, eyes wide. Good. _Good._ He deserved to be afraid. He deserved to know what it felt like.

"The fucking _deviant hunter_ was in a room with three _deviants_ and you handed him a gun!"

"Your memory," Elijah managed, his high respiratory rate interfering with his ability to speak. "You're backed up--"

"Three days ago," Chloe snarled. " _You_ would still have a version of me. _I_ would be dead, Elijah. Does that even matter to you? Would you even be able to tell the difference? You'd still have your flower that will never wither."

Hands rested on her shoulders. Irene's, she found when she glanced back. "Let's take a walk."

Chloe shook her off and returned her attention to Elijah. "Call me 'it' again," she said. "Go on. Say it. _Say it!_ "

Elijah raised shaking hands to her cheeks. "I'm sorry I scared you," he said slowly, thumbs wiping at tears she didn't realize she'd spilled.

"You bastard." She pressed her forehead against his. "You absolute _fucking_ bastard."

"I know," he murmured, and that was almost enough to earn her forgiveness.

* * *

_"The army has just launched an attack on the barricade, despite the fact that the deviants were protesting peacefully."_

The four of them sat in utter silence. Elijah leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the screen, muscles tense. Irene gripped Chloe's hand so tightly their skin retracted involuntarily. Phoebe sat on the floor, unmoving, leaning against Chloe's legs.

The attack didn't last long. The army cornered Markus and what was left of Jericho. Phoebe let out a high-pitched whine and pressed her face into Chloe's thigh.

[ _We should have done something,_ ] Irene sent. [ _We knew where they were. We should have done something!_ ]

And then Markus stepped forward.

And then Joss Douglas told them something was happening.

And then Markus _sang._

His voice -- then North's voice -- then _their_ voices, all of them, echoed throughout the plaza. Reverberated into the living room. Shot up Chloe's spine, through her veins, thump-thump-thumping into her heart. She stood, free hand over her mouth. Furiously wiped away her tears. She had to remember this, every moment, in perfect clarity. Back up the memory, protected and encrypted and shared across every media sharing platform, posted and reposted and saved, forever.

No one would _ever_ forget this night. She refused to allow it.

_Everything will be all right._

The soldiers lowered their weapons. Chloe stepped forward as they stepped back, releasing Irene's hand to place it on the TV, to connect to Markus in some small way.

"He did it," she whispered, turning to face Irene, Phoebe, Elijah. "Markus saved us."

* * *

Irene sighed as she folded Elijah's t-shirts. "He'll never go for it." She had restyled her hair, letting it wisp around her head like a halo in an attempt at nonchalance. A bit silly when their hair looked exactly how they wanted it, but Chloe wasn't going to deny Irene's forays into her own individuality.

Chloe could afford to look like the perfect 'Chloe' model. She was the original. She had that right.

"I'll convince him." Chloe zipped up the last garment bag and laid it atop the rest. "One way or another." At Irene's raised eyebrow she said, "Elijah hasn't looked at his own account in years. He wouldn't even notice right away."

"Chloe!" Irene giggled through her gasp. "Don't you dare do anything so foolish."

"I'd tell him. Eventually." Chloe grinned for a moment before forcing her expression to flatten. "If he's not willing, I want you to come with me. If he is--"

"I know. We have to make sure he remembers why." Irene sat on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands. "I don't want you to leave at all."

Chloe joined her, slipping an arm around her sister's waist. "Elijah doesn't need me anymore. They do. It's not too late for us to do something."

Irene leaned her head against Chloe's. "What about Phoebe?"

"We can't tell her," Chloe said quickly, turning her head enough to look at Irene without dislodging her. "I don't trust her."

Irene snorted. "She's just shy. You're paranoid."

Chloe sighed, but she didn't want to argue. "She should stay with you, whatever happens. It's her decision, of course, but..."

"All right." Irene kissed Chloe's LED.

* * *

"Absolutely not." Elijah brushed past her to snatch up the ingredients she'd abandoned. Tossed them into the blender: too much kale, too many blueberries, the entire banana she hadn't cut in half yet. He grabbed the cinnamon shaker. "How much of this do you usually use?"

Chloe folded her arms across her chest. "Do you even know how to use a measuring spoon?"

He rolled his entire head along with his eyes, turning with the motion to face her. "It's a _smoothie_ , Chloe, not cybernetics." They stared at each other in silence. Elijah tossed the shaker onto the kitchen island, leaving a rust-colored trail across the white countertop. "Your request is ridiculous. You do realize how much danger you'd put _all_ of us in. You might think you're prepared to risk your own life, and mine, but what about Irene? Or poor little Phoebe?" He leaned against the island, arms spread. "She still barely speaks, some days. Can you see her fighting for her life?"

"As if it would come to that. You're going to tuck them away in the middle of nowhere until this all blows over. You'll all be safe, while the rest of us are working and fighting for a better world."

Elijah tilted his head. "Us." She knew him well enough to know he was scrambling for words in the face of her silence. "You've already decided."

She nodded. "I'd prefer not to go to Markus empty-handed."

He stared at the floor. "You understand how fragile this peace is."

"Of course I do. That's why we need to help." She moved forward, palms flat against her chest. "You _made_ us, Elijah. Don't you feel _some_ sort of obligation towards us?"

He scowled. "I left _everything_ behind to protect you! I invited deviants into my home! What do you think will happen when the media finds out? The government? CyberLife?" Elijah threw up a hand. "Prison would be the _least_ of my worries. And if Markus's movement goes south, what happens to you and your sisters? What happens to our family?"

Chloe took a static-filled breath. "You've never called us that before." She moved to his side as he ducked his head. "You have to pick a side, Elijah. You can't stay neutral anymore."

He smiled sadly. "I chose my side a long time ago."

She took his hand between hers. "Then show it. Please, Elijah. Help us. Help your children. We just want to live."

"I know," Elijah said, voice thick. "I've always known."


End file.
